9 Best Smart Displays of 2026

The 2025 Amazon Echo Show 8 is the smart display most households should start with. Amazon lists an 8.7-inch HD touchscreen at 800 x 1340, a 13 MP camera with auto-framing and 3.3x zoom, and audio from a 2.8-inch woofer with two full-range drivers that Amazon describes as spatial audio. The detail that matters for smart homes is the built-in hub: it speaks Zigbee, Matter and Thread, so many lights, locks and sensors pair directly without a separate bridge. It runs on an AZ3 Pro chip with Wi-Fi 6E, and Omnisense can trigger routines by temperature, presence or visual ID. Prime Video and Netflix run as apps, with other services through the browser. The ongoing cost is Alexa+: after the free period it needs Prime or the $19.99 per month Alexa+ Standard plan. We compared documented features and Amazon's published specs; we did not test the display ourselves.

Amazon Echo Show 11 is the 2025 Echo Show 8 with a bigger, sharper screen. Amazon lists a 10.95-inch Full HD touchscreen at 1920 x 1200, which is the main reason to choose it: shows, recipes and calendars get more room and more pixels. The rest of the spec sheet matches the Echo Show 8. It has a 13 MP auto-framing camera with 3.3x zoom, the AZ3 Pro chip, Wi-Fi 6E, Omnisense routines and a hub for Zigbee, Matter and Thread devices. The speaker setup is also the same, a 2.8-inch woofer with two full-range drivers, so buyers who care most about sound gain nothing from the larger model. At 10 by 7.2 by 5 inches it needs more counter space, and like the Echo Show 8 it relies on Alexa+, which needs Prime or the paid Standard plan after the free period. We compared documented features; we did not test it.

Apple HomeView is the pick for homes built around iPhones. Apple sells it for $299 in four colors, with a wall-mounted version. The 7-inch Liquid Retina display uses True Tone and ranges from 500 nits down to 0.3 nits for a bedside table, and the 12MP Center Stage camera keeps people framed on FaceTime calls. Its strongest feature is multiuser support: HomeView recognizes up to six people by face and voice, with an A18 chip handling recognition in Secure Exclaves, and each person sees their own content from a paired iPhone or iPad. For smart homes it runs the Home app, streams up to nine camera feeds on the Home Camera face and can alert your devices when it hears a smoke or carbon monoxide alarm. The limits are clear: it needs an iPhone on iOS 27.2 or later or a compatible iPad, and the screen is smaller than Amazon's mid-size displays. We compared documented features and prices only.

Google Nest Hub (2nd gen) is the low-cost smart display that still covers the basics, at $99.99 on the Google Store. Google lists a 7-inch touchscreen at 1024 x 600, three far-field microphones, a full-range speaker it says has 50% more bass than the first Nest Hub, and the Gemini for Home voice assistant. There is no camera at all. Quick Gestures use the Soli sensor to pause music or stop a timer with a wave, and a Sunrise Alarm slowly brightens the screen in the morning, which makes it a natural fit for bedrooms. It has a Thread border router, works with Matter and has Chromecast built in, so it can control and cast to many Google Home devices. The trade-offs are no video calls, a lower-resolution screen and some features, such as alerts for glass breaking or smoke alarms, that need a Google Home Premium subscription. We compared documented specs and published prices; we did not test it.

Amazon Echo Show 15 is the Echo to buy when the display should live on a wall. Amazon lists a 15.6-inch Full HD screen at 1920 x 1080 that works vertically or horizontally, with home screen widgets for family calendars, to-do lists, weather and smart home controls. Built-in Fire TV gives it the full Fire TV app store, and Amazon includes a Fire TV remote, so it can double as a kitchen TV. The 13 MP camera has a shutter, 3.3x zoom and a wide field of view, the audio uses two 2-inch woofers and two 0.6-inch tweeters, and the hub handles Zigbee, Matter and Thread over Wi-Fi 6E. Shoppers should know Amazon's page says a newer model exists: the Echo Show 16 is listed for pre-order. If you want it now, the Show 15 is the current shipping option. We compared documented features; we did not test it.

Amazon Echo Show 5 (3rd Gen) is the small Alexa display for a nightstand or desk. Amazon lists a 5.5-inch touchscreen at 960 x 480, a 2 MP camera with a built-in shutter, a 1.75-inch full-range speaker and the AZ2 Neural Edge processor, in a body 5.8 inches wide. It shows the clock, weather and compatible camera feeds, makes video calls and supports Alexa+. It is a 2023 design and it shows in the specs: the screen and camera are well behind the 2025 Echo Show 8, Amazon notes that Netflix is not compatible with it, and its technical details list no Zigbee, Matter or Thread hub. Amazon does document recycled materials, with 100% post-consumer recycled polyester fabric and 100% recycled aluminum. For a bedroom without a camera, the Google Nest Hub is the alternative at a verified $99.99. We compared documented specs only.

Skylight Calendar 2 is a different kind of smart display: a 15-inch family calendar rather than a voice assistant. Skylight sells the Classic style for $299.99 and lists a 1920 x 1080 screen, 16GB of storage, removable magnetic Snap Frames and both a countertop stand and a wall mount in the box. It auto-syncs with Google, Outlook, Apple, Cozi and Yahoo calendars, gives each family member a color, and adds chore checklists and shared lists that can also be edited in the free mobile app. Meal planning, the photo screensaver, rewards and Magic Import, which turns forwarded school emails or PDFs into events, belong to the Plus plan at $79 per year after a free first month. There is no voice assistant, camera or smart home control listed, so it suits families who mainly want everyone on the same schedule. We compared documented features and prices; we did not test it.

Cozyla Calendar Neo is the budget entry in Cozyla's line of family calendar displays, listed from $169.99 on Cozyla's US site. Cozyla describes it as one shared calendar that keeps everyone in sync, with a personalized dashboard showing your daily view and favorite apps and the Cozyla Voice Agent for spoken requests and suggestions. Orders get free shipping and 120-day free returns within the contiguous US, plus a 1-year warranty. Cozyla also sells the larger Calendar Plus 2, which it describes as a family calendar, Android tablet, digital picture frame and smart home hub in one touchscreen, and Routie, a $139.99 kids routine device. The catch is documentation: Cozyla's product page blocked our checks, so we could not confirm the Neo's screen size, resolution or any subscription terms, and the scores here are conservative for that reason. We compared documented features and published prices only.

DAKboard Wall Display is the choice for people who want to design their own wall dashboard rather than use a voice assistant. DAKboard lists the Wall Display from $699.95 in touch and non-touch versions, connecting to 2.4GHz and 5GHz Wi-Fi and hanging like a photo frame with the included drywall mount. Everything is configured on the dakboard.com website: you drag, drop and resize blocks for calendars, photos, news and weather, set an on and off schedule, and manage it remotely. The touch features add per-person chore columns with points that convert into rewards. New customers get 30 days of DAKboard Plus free. The price is the obvious drawback, and there is no voice assistant or camera listed. DAKboard also sells a CPU from $99.95 that turns a monitor you already own into the same dashboard, which is the better value for many buyers. We compared documented features and prices only.